It's pickin' time for Game 4!

The folks at ARCO arena have the prescription to Rashard’s fever… More Cowbell!!!".

Before reading any further please read this link.

Alright. It’s funny what a 1st lost game on a road trip may do to expectations. From dreams of a possible Kings sweep & of unleashing the monster that be Jerome James to the rest of the unsuspecting playoff teams to now contemplating a potential 1st round exit…

To start with, I always felt the following:
-Sonics at full strength vs. Kings full strength would result in Seattle advancing in 7 (or 6)
-Sonics weakened (i.e. Lewis & A.D. injured to partially effective) vs. Kings weakened (i.e. 2 of Peja, Miller, B-Jax trio injured to partially effective) would result in Seattle advancing in 7 (or 6)
-Sonics with a gimpy Lewis & A.D. vs. Kings full strength would result in Kings in 7 (or 6)
Updated:
-Sonics full strength w/Bizarro Jerome: 2nd round, taking the Spurs to 6 games (or 7) and with EVERYONE playing at their absolute peak, possibly winning the ‘ship.

That said, the Rashard injury/absence to me is the single most dominating series/playoffs subplot for the Sonics. From the Seattle Times :

Lewis declined to answer questions after the game, but he was asked if he was OK physically and nodded.

It is in the volume speaking absence of words that Rashard showed after that demoralizing game 3 loss that I took the most solace in.

That folks, sounds like someone who feels like he has a gargantuan chip on his shoulder... Someone who has a hunger for nothing short of redemption in game 4… Peja & Co. beware...

Rashard Lewis has a fever, and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL!! And since they’re still in the bell-clanging friendly confines of ARCO arena, in the immortal words of generic baseball broadcasters everywhere: Let’s play two!

Prediction:
Kings yet again perform admirably with the backing of the homecourt crowd, but…
Sonics bounce back with overall inspired play & Lewis comes back in a major way & combines with Ray Allen to score 60+ points min. Result?
Seattle 113 - Sacramento 108

It's pickin' time yet again folks... You make the call, what's the game 4 outcome? The prize: free soup for you!

Oh yeah, and there’s this fun little tidbit:

"And Evans -- you talk about Vlade [Divac] being a flopper? This guy is taking it to a whole new level. He goes down when the air conditioning comes on.
"They're doing their jobs, but I think there's times when they go overboard, and I think the officials should be aware of that."

-Adelman on the atrocious officiating and ridiculous flopping job done by the opposing team in the Sacramento-Seattle series. I’m Crash Davis, letting you, the loyal reader/batter, know that a fastball is coming up straight down the middle… Please, take this present, and hit it out of the park. And please don't go disrespecting my pitcher by lollygagging before running the bases...